Concept Teaching Lesson Plan

Teacher: Elizabeth Herbert

Subject: American History

Grade Level: 10th

Topic: Segregation
CCSS: (Include code and description):
Us History SS 6 1.6, DOK 3, Concept L Changing Roles of Various Groups
Analyze how the roles of class, ethnic, racial, gender and age groups have changed in
society, including causes and effects.
Objective(s): After learning about segregation as a concept, students will be able to
generate a list of 5 examples of segregation working in pairs.
Materials needed: Screen to project images, concept map copies, chalk or white board,
speakers for playing oral histories
Phase 1: Introduction: Clarify goals and establish set.
Ask students what they know about Jim Crow.
Ask students what they know about the goals of the Civil Rights movement.
Let students know that the purpose of todays lesson is to define and examine the characteristics
of one of the major concepts of the Civil Rights Movement.

Phase 2: Provide examples and non-example pairs:

Students will be presented with the following sets of lists of examples and non-examples in the
order listed. They will be given a thinking sheet in order to track their thought processes.
First Set:
Examples: Five photos

Non-examples: Five photos

Second Set:
Examples: Five scenarios
Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are on a road trip. They are tired and decide to stop for the night at a
motel. They cannot find a motel that will accommodate them because they are Black. They
instead have to drive through the night.
Jill takes a city bus home from work everyday. Although it is not the law, she is expected to sit in
the back of the bus.

Jeremy is new in town. He enjoys playing golf and decides to join the country club in his
neighborhood. However, he is rejected by the club. They suggest that he try to join a club
several miles away which permits Black members.
Tammy is 14 years old. She is very excited to see the new movie at the theater. However, she is
only allowed to sit in the balcony at the theater where most of the chairs are broken and the floor
is never cleaned, so there is trash everywhere.
Mr. and Ms. Lawrence have two children. They attend the local public school which is open to
Black children. Mr. and Ms. Lawrence do not think their children are getting a quality education
because the school does not have enough teachers, books, and other materials. They petition the
school board to allow their children to go to one of the white schools but they are turned down.
They find a Catholic school which will accept their children, but the tuition is too high. Mr. and
Ms. Lawrences children have to stay in the low performing school.
Non-examples: Five scenarios
Thomas owns a large plantation in Georgia. He has 24 slaves of African descent.
Carl is a lawyer. In addition to being a member of the St. Louis Bar Association, he is also a
member of the Mound City Bar Association, which is the oldest Black bar association west of the
Mississippi River.
The NAACP is a civil rights organization which advocates on behalf of racial minorities in the
United States.
The VICC transfer program in St. Louis allows students at low performing schools to attend
school in the county.
The Stevens family has just moved into a new neighborhood. They chose the neighborhood
because they were excited to find a nice mix of races, ethnicities, and religions among the
neighbors.
Phase 3: Check student attainment of concept:
Students will listen to 2 oral histories which describe segregation and 2 oral histories that
describe integration. They will be asked which oral histories reference practices that could be
considered segregation.
Example oral histories: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/2708?ref=search
Non-example oral histories:
http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/playback.html?base_file=U-0005
http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/playback.html?base_file=K-0173
http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/playback.html?base_file=K-0547

Check for student understanding by allowing students to respond orally to a list of questions.

What do you see in the examples?

What do the pictures or scenarios or oral histories have in common?
What concept do you see being portrayed in the examples?
Why are the non-examples not representative of the concept?

Define Critical and Non-Critical Attributes by asking: What is important?

List the things that each of the examples have in common.

List the things that they do not have in common.

As a class, we will develop a working definition of segregation using the critical and non-critical
attributes.
Working in pairs, students will come up with 5 examples of segregation.
Phase 4: Analyze student thinking processes:
Display the original examples and non-examples and allow students to complete a worksheet in
which they consider their guesses and analyze why they had those guesses.
Distribute Segregation Concept Map.
Modifications: For students who have difficulty reading off of the board, teacher will
distribute handout of written scenarios.

Concept Map

De Jure: The legal separation of

groups in society. Mandated by
law.
Ex: Jim Crow laws

De Facto: Separation of groups

that happens without laws.
Ex: Inner city schools populated
by mostly African American
students

SEGREGATI
ON

Definition:
The separation of
one person, group,
or thing from others

Characteristics:
Can be by law
Can occur without law
Exclusive membership
Denial of goods or
services
Special privileges
Unequal
Although related to
racism, is a different
concept